Guantanamo.- Maximizing fuel conservation and seeking alternatives to sustain essential services for the population amid the current fuel shortage were the main focuses of a meeting held to assess Guantánamo’s operational, economic, and social situation.
The fuel shortage affecting the province in recent days has disrupted vital services, including public health and education, transportation, the operations of RadioCuba and ETECSA—which are responsible for maintaining communications—and water pumping for the population.
The shortage of diesel, in particular, is currently hindering the transportation of more than 140 tons of rice and 51 tons of beans unloaded at the port of Santiago de Cuba. It is also affecting the delivery of educational materials to schools for the current academic year.
In response to the situation, Yoel Pérez García, First Secretary of the Communist Party in Guantánamo, called on business leaders, government agencies, and local authorities to seek alternatives. These could include purchasing fuel for essential services from micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and other non-state economic actors that import diesel and gasoline.
“This action,” the Party official stated, “is part of the economic and social transformations approved nationwide and falls within the responsibilities of local territories under the framework of municipal autonomy.”
As in every meeting focused on ensuring the province’s operational continuity, the agenda also addressed several other issues, including the insufficient level of cash collection by bank branches; shortfalls in the collection of fluid milk for the processing industry; failure to meet commercial circulation targets; and delays in investments in water infrastructure intended to supply the population.
Pérez García also called for an expedited response to power outages and the replacement of transformers, an issue affecting all municipalities.
